Author Artemis

Chapter 022 - Output

“Are you alright?” James asked.

“Do I look like I’m alright?” The injured boy replied, putting on a tough front but clearly on the verge of tears. He looked like he was going to say more, opening his mouth, but then he paused and closed his mouth again, pursing his lips. He looked pointedly at the new (ish) shirt that James was wearing. “What’d you do to get another shirt?”

“Uh, I just asked.” James said. “Coin did tell me I wouldn’t get another, and that I...

Chapter 21 - Accident

It was just after breakfast when this all happened, so after the tools were handed out James and the rest of the slaves entered the mines for a full day of work. James was pacing himself, as normal, so as not to outpace everyone else, when he looked over and noticed the new boy was swinging the pick-axe, poorly, at a vein of red iron ore. He quickly walked over.

“Hey.”

The new boy jumped, nearly dropping the pick-axe. “What?” he asked, sounding annoyed and looking embarras...

Chapter 20 - A New Face

After lunch, James rejoined the other slave boys to work in the mines, but before they got back to work Coin had them line up and handed each of them a shovel to go with the pick-axe they had been given in the morning. At some point handles had been affixed to the shovel heads. Coin glared at James as he thrust the new (ish) shovel in James’ hands. “Don’t forget, you still owe me six extra ingots.” “Y-yes sir.” James replied.

Inside the mine and out of sight of th...

Chapter 19 - Order Fulfilled

By the next morning his new hammers had finished cooling. After clearing out rubble with the rest of the boys, mainly from the tunnel expansion he had been working on yesterday, he prepared his forge and got to work on producing all the pick-axes that were due, eleven more in all. Eventually he settled into a rhythm, first beating the iron into the rough shape with his largest hammer and then eventually smoothing out the details with his smaller hammers. He even sharpened them somewhat while ...

Chapter 18 - Finally Forging

With that, dinner proceeded as usual after handing in their tools. Brian sat as far as he could away from James, but James didn’t exactly want to be close to Brian either. After dinner, James returned to the smelter, working through more of the backlog. By the end of the night, his ingots from the broken tools had cooled. [Material Identification] returned [Iron Ingots] upon inspection, just like his other iron ingots, but he still kept them separate i...

Chapter 17 - Order Restored

After the usual lunch of thin soup and stale bread, James joined the rest of the slaves in the mine. He was worried about the boy he’d punched earlier, but that boy kept his head down and avoiding James’ gaze, swiftly if unsteadily made his way deeper into the mine, working to expand the tunnel rather than digging out any ore. The grey-eyed boy sidled up to James. “Don’t worry about him, he’s learned his lesson. Still a bit out of it though, so he’s working on his own for the rest...

Chapter 16 - Pecking Order

With a dull crack, the poor boy fell like a sack of potatoes. He lay there unmoving on the recently cleared dirt floor of the tunnel. The grey-eyed boy swiftly crouched down, confirmed he was still breathing, then stood up and spoke to the rest of the slaves, now all gawking at the spectacle.

“We all do what we’re told, and that’s it. Arguing with me, arguing with Smith, don’t bother. We’re just doing what we gotta do. Like I said, you don’t like what I’m doing,...

Chapter 15 - Tensions Rising

The Merchant whistled. “Phew, Smith. You gotta lotta work piled up, doncha? Heheheh.”

The other slaver, the one who wielded a spear and usually just watched the slaves and the surrounding forest silently, remained typically silent. His eyes roved over the pile of iron ore, the smelter, and the tools James had painstakingly created: the anvil, the hammer, and the tongs.

The merchant slaver snorted and gestured at the tools. “You know, Smith, we took ya o...

Chapter 14 - A Faint Hope

“Hey.” the other boy said softly. “How do you think this ends, for us?”

James’ eyes widened. Would they just all die, eventually? Despite their best efforts? Even if they behaved?

“It’s been months since we got any new slaves, and last time we only got you, all by your lonesome.” The boy continued. “Before, slave traders and bandits would bring in a bunch of boys all at once. Or one or two every week or so. But now it’s been so long. And none of us were properl...

Chapter 13 - Changes

“Smith.” he whispered. James sat up hurriedly from his pile of old leaves. There were, of course, no blankets in the lean-to. The slaves would periodically gather fresh leaves for themselves from the forest near the camp, under the watchful eye of the hunter overseer. All the slaves were deeply aware that there was no chance of outrunning a fully grown hunter in his own territory. Nobody ever made the attempt, at least, not since James had arrived.

“Shh.” he hushed Ja...

Chapter 12 - Pride

The next day James woke with the other slaves and headed into the mine. He was stopped by the grey-eyed boy. “You’re not supposed to mine for five days.” he said.

“I need iron to make a forge. They told me to mine it myself.” James replied. The other boy frowned.

“That’s going to confuse everyone.”

“So?”

“That’s going to cause problems.” the boy emphasized.

James paused a moment, unsure what to say.

“How much do you need...

Chapter 11 - New Tasking

The next morning, the slaves woke up as normal, James included. However, as James headed towards the smelter, he felt a hand grip his shoulder. “Where do you think you’re going.” the older boy with the grey eyes challenged him.

“I was told to make a new smelter.” James replied.

The boy glared at him silently. He knew that James had been put on smelter duty permanently, and that James was a smith.

“If you’re lying, you’ll regret it.” he threatened James.

Chapter 10 - Introduction to Slave Life

After this painful and traumatic experience, James lost his courage. For the next few months James settled in to life as a slave. At first he was put to work in a mine dug into the side of the mountain with the other slaves. At the crack of dawn they’d awaken in the lean-to on the side of the mountain and head into the mine. They did not want to have the overseers be forced to wake them. They’d spend the first hour or so clearing up rubble and dirt between the entrance of th...

Chapter 09 - Enslaved [Mature]

A month later, James was brought to a camp on the side of a mountain deep into no-man’s-land between two kingdoms. He was wearing the filthy, tattered remains of the clothes he’d been wearing when he was captured by a bandit. The first time he tried to run away, the bandit had beaten him black and blue. The second time he tried to run away, the bandit had broken his arms. The bandit hadn’t broken his legs because he needed James to keep walking, but the constant pain from the untreated ...

Chapter 08 - The End of the Beginning

Basic Fire Enchantment: Heated Blade memorized.

James twitched. What was that? He looked at the top sheet of paper and saw that it indeed was the basic fire enchantment for weapons. He flipped the paper over-

Basic Fire Enchantment: Fire Resistance memorized.

James closed his eyes. When he thought of the fire enchantments, there they were, perfectly reproduced in his mind’s eye. He wasn’t quite sure, but ...

Chapter 07 - What Happens Next

They didn’t take it well.

James’ mother was inconsolable. She wailed louder than James had ever heard in his entire life before she ran out of the kitchen and back to his parents’ bedroom. James flinched at the sound of the door slamming.

James’ father was so quiet that at first James thought that he was silent, hands covering his face. But as the echo of the door slamming faded and with his mother’s wailing muffled, James realized his father was so...

Chapter 06 - Class Selection

Class System unlocked. 0/2 Classes chosen. Please select a Class.

James’ eyes flew open. He sat up in bed and looked out the window. It was that moment where the stars of the night started to fade as dawn approached. The day of his birthday.

Class System unlocked. 0/2 Classes chosen. Please select a Class.

It was the strangest feeling, like someone else was thinking inside his head. He started to tremble ex...

Chapter 05 - Temptation

“D-did the enchantment work?”

“Yes, it did, but…”

“But what? What did you mean by ‘ten percent’?”

“Ehh, it’s technical, but it’s the trouble with Enchanting. The sword’s Enchanted, sure, and it’s about average compared to other Enchanted swords, but the efficiency is only about ten percent of the theoretical maximum for the Enchantment.”
“Theoretical maximum?” James had never heard that term before.

“Yes. Well, I can’t tell you ...

Chapter 04 - The Enchanter Meridox

Meridox led James around the left wing of the manor, revealing several smaller buildings. Then they entered one that wasn’t the largest, but also wasn’t the smallest. Inside was a single large room with work tables lining the walls, broad windows to let in as much light as possible, and there were large chests under the tables. Meridox set down the sword, still hilt-less, on the worktable with the most light, and opened the chest under the table, pulling out a rod about a foot and a half ...

Chapter 03 - Meeting the Baron

James, having heard the wisdom of his parents, ate his dinner with his younger sister and his parents.

“Oh, that’s right.” His father said. “You’ve been invited to the Lord’s manor to see if you have aptitude for any Classes he needs for the barony. I’ll take you there the day after tomorrow.”

“Classes for the barony?” James asked.

“Yes, although since you’re already interested in Smith, you should be fine. A Lord can never have too many Smiths. But t...

Chapter 02 - The Talk

The smith laughed. “What, did ye think ye were keeping it a secret? Ye’ve been down here days and days lad, most young’ns get fed up with the heat and noise in under an hour, of course ye want to be a smith.”

“Do you think I can? Become a smith?”

“’Course ye can, why wouldn’t ye? Anyone who’s been to a forge before can choose a smithing class, and it’s a good choice anyway. Never heard of a smith starving before, and I could use some help around the forge whi...

Chapter 01 - Out to the Forge

Editor’s Note:

Andrew of Longthorn, better known as Andrew the Chronicler, had a brother who made the mistake of not taking a combat class. The brother, whose name has been lost to time, is known to have left behind three children and a widow, whom Andrew the Chronicler provided for until the children came of age. The influence of this is visible in Andrew’s rendition of The Legendary Smith.

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Author’s Note:

All know the Legend of the Smit...

Table of Contents

Chapter 01 - Out to the Forge

Chapter 02 - The Talk

Chapter 03 - Meeting the Baron

Chapter 04 - The Ench...

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